World No Tobacco Day

Today is World No Tobacco Day and to mark the occasion I hope that all Tasmanians will help us to spread the message that smoking kills.

The Hodgman Liberal Government has set the challenging target of making Tasmania the healthiest state in Australia by 2025.

We’ve already started taking action on smoking, having recently passed amendments to the Public Health Act 1997. These amendments give Councils the ability to declare areas they occupy smoke-free and give the Director of Public Health the ability to permit designated smoking areas at approved public events, which will aid the transition to entirely smoke-free public events.

However the centrepiece of our commitment is developing a comprehensive, evidence-based five-year preventative health strategy for Tasmania. Evidence-based initiatives to reduce the rate of smoking will of course be a key part of this.

A committee of the Health Council of Tasmania led by Dr Tim Greenaway is already working on the development of this strategy.

Smoking is a deadly activity which kills tens of thousands of people around the world every year. As a society we all have the responsibility to spread the non-smoking message.

Last week I helped to launch a powerful new campaign warning Tasmanians of the dangers of smoking.

The ‘16 Cancers’ campaign, an initiative of Quit Tasmania and Cancer Council Tasmania, includes graphic television advertisements showing the terrible impacts of smoking-related cancers.

Quit Tasmania offers assistance and advice for those who would like to quit smoking. World No Tobacco Day is a great time to take the first step towards a healthier, smoke-free lifestyle so call the Quitline on 13 7848 today.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health